Tag: Channing Goodwin

2026 Season Countdown: #51-55

#51. Aisea Moa – LB – North Ogden (UT) Weber: Moa is a 6’2″, 238 lb. fifth year senior who is the older brother of Michigan freshman wide receiver Salesia Moa. Aisea spent three years at BYU before transferring to Michigan State in 2025, where he made 12 tackles, 1 tackle for loss, and 2 pass breakups. (He made 2 of his 12 tackles in the Michigan game.) He played for new Michigan defensive coordinator Jay Hill when he was at BYU, so he has some familiarity with the system as well as some playing experience (27 total games played during his four years). He does not appear to be in the running to start at linebacker, but he will probably play some special teams and should be able to help in the linebacker room as the inexperienced group learns Hill’s system.

#52. Channing Goodwin – WR – Charlotte (NC) Providence Day: Goodwin is a 6’1″, 197 lb. redshirt sophomore who started six games in 2025. It’s odd for a half-season starter to drop so precipitously from where we might expect a returning starter to be, but Michigan has upgraded its wide receiver corps. Goodwin had 12 catches for 148 yards last season and did some nice things at times, and I admitted at one point last year that he seemed to be faster than he looked when he was coming out of high school. But the talent in the position group has been upgraded with transfers J.J. Buchanan (Utah) and Jaime Ffrench (Texas), along with freshmen Salesi Moa and Travis Johnson. Goodwin seems like a fairly reliable player who should be able to jump in the game adequately in case of an injury or two, or just to give someone a breather, but he doesn’t seem to have game-changing ability.

#53. Travis Moten – DT – Louisville (KY) Fern Creek: Moten is a 6’6″, 315 lb. monster of a human who’s a bit of a question mark at this point. He has the requisite size to be a force, but he only played in one game last season, his first year of college. Michigan needs some players to step up at defensive tackle, especially if Utah transfer Jonah Lea’ea hasn’t been able to add weight and/or won’t be able to hold up inside for the Wolverines. Michigan also has other options like Benny Patterson and Deyvid Palepale who are unproven, and the team needs someone from that cluster of players to emerge as a rotational player in 2026.

#54. Eli Owens – TE – Alcoa (TN) Alcoa: Owens is a 6’1″, 244 lb. redshirt freshman who has said all the right things – he wants to be a team player and wants to emulate former Michigan fullback/tight end Max Bredeson. The biggest question is whether Michigan will employ fullbacks and tight ends in the same way they did under Jim Harbaugh and Sherrone Moore. Owens even took over the #44 jersey from Bredeson, but the transplanted Utah staff used a “Rhino” – a backup defensive lineman or offensive lineman – as an extra tight end last year, and they averaged having 5.5 offensive linemen per snap in 2025. Owens is likely to be a backup to Jalen Hoffman, so I don’t have high expectations for Owens to be a major factor in 2026, but he should be in the mix to play on special teams.

#55. Jamar Browder – WR – Jacksonville (FL) Santaluces: Browder is a 6’5″, 215 lb. sophomore who played in seven games as a freshman last season. Despite playing a fair amount, he did not make any receptions. Michigan brought in several new receiving targets (see Channing Goodwin’s blurb above) and Browder was already behind a few guys, so he will probably not see a ton of playing time in 2026. His biggest asset – mini tight end size at 6’5″, 215 – may be something the offensive coaching staff could use in some jumbo sets or down near the goal line, but I expect him to play fewer snaps this year than last year.

2025 Season Countdown: #61-65

65. RB Micah Ka’apana (RS Fr.): As expected for last season, Ka’apana took a redshirt after playing in just two games. He looked tiny – and still doesn’t look very big – but was able to catch a jet sweep pass for 4 yards against Northwestern. He looked decent in the spring on a few runs, but he just doesn’t have the strength at this point to power through tackles. He’s probably another year or two away from contributing in a big way, but his quickness and pass catching skills may prove to be valuable since the top couple backs are known more for being powerful and tough. Last year’s rank: #94.

64. DE Nate Marshall (Fr.): Marshall (4-star, #3 edge, and #43 overall) seems to be flying under the radar a little bit for being the #43 overall recruit in the 2025 class, but my hunch is that might change once the fall comes. Unlike a couple of the skinny edges Michigan landed in 2024 (Lugard Edokpayi, Devon Baxter), Marshall was listed at 6’4″ and 265 lbs. as a recruit and should come in more ready to play, somewhat like Derrick Moore in 2022. Moore was listed at 6’3″, 279 lbs. as a freshman and has slimmed down, but I think Marshall is more athletic. He probably won’t break into the top four of Moore, T.J. Guy, Cam Brandt, and Dominic Nichols, but he should get some playing time to whet our appetites for 2026 and beyond.

63. DE Tyler McLaurin (RS Sr.): Over McLaurin’s first three seasons at Michigan, he played in just five games. He was listed in his third year as a 227 lb. edge player, which wasn’t going to work. This spring he was listed at a reasonable 252 lbs., and while he’s not talented enough to see much playing time on defense, that at least makes him a somewhat viable option in a pinch. The 2024 season saw an uptick in playing time on special teams, where he played in all thirteen games. I expect that to continue in 2025. Last year’s rank: #67.

62. WR Channing Goodwin (RS Fr.): Listed at 6’1″ and 185 lbs., Goodwin returns in 2025 after playing in four games and preserving his redshirt in 2024. He played a little on special teams and a little at receiver. From what we saw in the spring game, I still think Goodwin is a possession receiver at best at this point. He does seem like someone the coaches trust to do the right thing, so I imagine he’ll be a guy who plays quite a bit in 2025 but without getting targeted much.

61. WR Joe Taylor (RS Sr.): Taylor is a former walk-on who was named Special Teams Player of the Year for Michigan in 2024. He does a little bit of everything and returned 4 kickoffs for 69 yards, caught 1 pass for 9 yards, made 4 tackles, and forced 1 fumble. I keep hoping Michigan will find someone else to put deep to return kickoffs because, while Taylor is supposedly one of the fastest players on the team, he just doesn’t have much wiggle or tackle breaking ability. Regardless of whether Michigan finds someone with a little more potential or not, Taylor will undoubtedly play quite a bit on specials.

2025 Spring Football Preview: Wide Receiver

RETURNING PLAYERS: Peyton O’Leary (RS Sr.), Joe Taylor (RS Sr.), Amorion Walker (Sr.), Logan Forbes (RS Jr.), Fredrick Moore (Jr.), Semaj Morgan (Jr.), Kendrick Bell (RS So.), Channing Goodwin (RS Fr.), I’Marion Stewart (RS Fr.)
NEWCOMERS: Donaven McCulley (RS Sr.), Anthony Simpson (RS Sr.), Andrew Marsh (Fr.), Jamar Browder (Fr.)
DEPARTURES: C.J. Charleston (graduation), Tyler Morris (transfer to Indiana)

OUTLOOK: Michigan’s receivers did not have a banner year in 2024. Part of it may be a chicken-or-egg situation with the poor quarterback play: no receiver was going to have a great year with Davis Warren and Alex Orji throwing the ball, and not many quarterbacks were going to have great passing numbers throwing to what Michigan put out there at receiver. Tight end Colston Loveland led Michigan’s team in receptions (56), yards (548), and touchdowns (5). By comparison, the leading wideouts in each category were Semaj Morgan (27 catches), Tyler Morris (248 yards), and Morris again (2 touchdowns).

Morris headed for the greener pastures of, uh, Bloomington, Indiana, this off-season, so it’s a pretty complete overhaul of the receiving group. Morgan is back, but he had a measly 139 yards and a paltry 5.2 yards per catch. That’s not an indictment of Morgan’s talent, but Michigan’s overall inability to push the ball downfield, set up screens appropriately, and generally call an offense. I have more faith in new offensive coordinator Chip Lindsey than the departed Kirk Campbell, so I expect Morgan to benefit significantly. But he has yet to prove that he can be a downfield threat.

The prize of Michigan’s transfer efforts at receiver is Indiana transfer Donaven McCulley, a 6’5″, 203 lb. possession guy who caught 48 passes for 644 yards and 6 touchdowns in 2023. While he doesn’t have a ton of downfield speed, he’s the type of big target with experience that Michigan lacked out wide in 2024. He can probably be penciled in as a starter this fall.

Other unknowns include the quick Fredrick Moore (11 catches, 148 yards, 1 TD in 2024), former walk-on and possession guy Peyton O’Leary (10 catches, 102 yards, 1 TD), former quarterback Kendrick Bell (7 catches, 70 yards), and reed-thin speedster Amorion Walker (3 catches, 34 yards). The most intriguing of those is Walker, who is 6’3″ and 182 lbs. Once penciled in as a starting cornerback by Jim Harbaugh – and briefly at Ole Miss in the spring of 2024 – he spent last year at receiver. If corners don’t get a hand on him, he can run real fast; if corners do get a hand on him, he can fall down real fast.

One of Lindsey’s tasks will be to figure out which veteran receiver can play a good-sized role in the offense and provide some help for some limited quarterbacks: QB Mikey Keene is limited by his stature, and QB Bryce Underwood is limited by his inexperience. But another task will be to figure out what roles can be played by freshman Andrew Marsh, incoming UMass transfer Anthony Simpson, and freshman Jamar Browder. Marsh comes in with some questions about his overall speed, but he reportedly finds a way to make things happen. Simpson is a bit of a screen and gadget guy, but he could be fun to watch. And Browder is a 6’3″ guy with some upside, but he’s probably somebody who needs to bake in the oven for at least a season.

Overall, Michigan has an array of pieces. While last season was similar at receiver to the 2023-2024 Michigan basketball team that got Juwan Howard fired because he couldn’t construct a roster, this year could be closer to the 2024-2025 Dusty May version of the basketball team: a well constructed squad probably lacking championship potential.

2024 Season Countdown: #82 Channing Goodwin

Name: Channing Goodwin
Height: 6’1″
Weight: 185 lbs.
High school: Charlotte (NC) Providence Day
Position: Wide receiver
Class: Freshman
Jersey number: N/A
Last year: Goodwin was a senior in high school (LINK). He made 65 catches for 1,094 yards and 14 touchdowns.
TTB Rating: 72

Goodwin is a Michigan legacy who seemed like a pretty good bet all along to end up as a Wolverine. Of course, that’s not always the case, because I thought the same thing about tight end Will Mallory back in 2018 – among others over the years – and I was wrong. (Mallory committed to Miami and made 115 catches for 1,544 yards and 14 touchdowns before being taken by the Colts in the 5th round in 2023.) But Channing played alongside quarterback Jadyn Davis, and why not go to the same school where you might be able to maintain the chemistry you developed in high school? It has seemed to work for Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase as they moved from LSU to the Cincinnati Bengals.

Goodwin is not particularly big, nor is he particularly fast. Usually, it seems like you have to be one or the other to make a big impact as a freshman. While he may have been in line for more playing time prior to a couple transfers, the arrivals of C.J. Charleston (Youngstown State) and Amorion Walker (Ole Miss) to the receiving group make Goodwin a good redshirt candidate. I’m going to count on him being able to block since his dad was an NFL offensive lineman, so perhaps that will get him on the field early, but he probably won’t be a big factor in 2024.

Prediction: Redshirt

2024 Spring Football Preview: Wide Receiver

2023 Starters: Cornelius Johnson, Roman Wilson
Losses: Darrius Clemons (Oregon State), Johnson (NFL), Wilson (NFL)
Returning players: Eamonn Dennis (RS Sr.), Peyton O’Leary (RS Jr.), Tyler Morris (RS So.), Karmello English (So.), Frederick Moore (So.), Semaj Morgan (So.), Kendrick Bell (RS Fr.)
Newcomer: Channing Goodwin (Fr.)
Projected starters: Morris, Morgan

For some teams who play three and four wide receivers on every down, losing two senior wide receivers might not seem like a huge deal. So in the context of college football, the departures of Cornelius Johnson (47 catches, 604 yards, 1 touchdown) and Roman Wilson (48, 789, 12) might not seem like a huge deal. Johnson was the large-ish possession receiver, and Wilson was the speedy deep and intermediate threat. And then there were usually a couple tight ends roaming all over the place. Altogether, Michigan got just 47 other receptions from receivers not named Johnson or Wilson, and 3 of those came from Clemons, who is now plying his trade for the Beavers.

Based on playing time and targets last season, the two front-runners for starting roles in 2024 should be Morris and Morgan. Morris started four games – so he’s kind of a returning starter, I guess – and made 13 catches for 197 yards and 1 touchdown. But that one touchdown was a huge, key play when he got matched up against a linebacker against Alabama in the Rose Bowl and caught a crossing route for a 38-yard touchdown. Meanwhile, Morgan caught 22 passes for 204 yards and 2 touchdowns, and he also had an 87-yard punt return against Iowa in the Big Ten Championship game. He showed some downfield receiving chops in high school, but so far he’s been more of a catch-and-run guy with jitterbug moves – witness his screen catch for a TD against Washington – and adding in 4 carries for 67 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Last year’s spring game star was walk-on Peyton O’Leary (2 catches, 13 yards, 1 touchdown), who could factor in more this season if Michigan needs a big possession guy at 6’4″ and 190 lbs. Frederick Moore (4 catches, 32 yards) and Karmello English (1 catch, 6 yards, 1 touchdown) will also factor in somehow. Some people think Moore could be the fastest player on the team.

Players with less of a chance to make an impact include fifth year senior Eamonn Dennis (who has yet to make a catch in his career but plays a lot of special teams), Kendrick Bell (who was a high school quarterback until making the position switch last year), and early enrollee freshman Channing Goodwin. Bell’s brother Ronnie is now a wide receiver in the NFL with the 49ers, and Goodwin has some good bloodlines, as his father was a lineman for Michigan and in the NFL. But it’s unlikely that any of them play a huge role in 2024.